Well…Doug’s gone down.  He’s absolutely pitiful.  Fever…chills…aches…pains…just. yucky.

I’m living in a cootie farm.

So thankfully we’ve got a team of awesome leaders at church who are ready for scenarios such as this one.  Ya’ll pray for Philip tomorrow…he’s stepping in the pulpit.  It will be his first time teaching two services in a row, so pray for that too.

And please pray for healing for Doug.

As for the boys…Noah had a normal temp. all day and has been active and happy…but popped a low grade fever tonight.  I don’t know WHAT is up with that.

Isaac has not had a fever all day and is fine tonight…perhaps he’s got a milder case of it.

So that’s my report from the infirmary tonight.  I hope that your household is healthy…

So Noah appears to be at the end of his little flu journey.  No more fever and he’s back to teasing his little brother.  He started eyeballing Isaac first thing this morning with a mischievous grin.  Things are looking up.

Isaac is still dragging, but does not have a fever this morning.  We’ll see how his day progresses.

So far, I’m fine.  I’m chugging Elderberry Extract Syrup and using Thieves Oil in an attempt to ward off this mean and ugly bug.  Yes, I sound like a tree loving whack job, but I don’t have the flu yet, so I’m okay with that.  Whatever works.  (For those of you wondering, Elderberry Extract is a natural anti-viral and Thieves Oil has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.)

Well…we made it through the first month on our Dave Ramsey budget.  I’m happy to report that we did indeed, as budgeted, spend just under $400 on food this month.  That $400 includes all groceries and 3 eat outs.  (The eat outs were cheap…one Moes trip…one night at Texas Roadhouse – the kids ate free and our meals were $7.99 each…and a cheap date at our favorite Mexican joint where we split an order of fajitas.)  The $400 also includes Noah’s GFCF food…$4.50 a loaf bread (yikes!) and organic meats for his school lunches.   It wasn’t easy…but now I know that it can be done, so I’m stoked.  I would like to thank Aldi, Super Target and Whole Foods for my success.  (Notice that I didn’t say Walmart.  I’m finding more and more that Wally World is NOT the cheapest place to shop.  At least not for what we eat, anyway.)  Woo-hoo for cheap eats.

Noah’s “talking box”…his Springboard Lite…has finally arrived.  We should be able to sign the papers and bring it home this week.  Woo-hoo for that too.

Well, Noah is laughing hysterically and Isaac is hollering so I’d better go break it up.  Brothers.

Ya’ll have a great day today…

ugghhh.

It’s Isaac’s turn.

I knew that I was in for it when he started telling me this afternoon that he “is very cold”.

It was 74 degrees outside.

A few hours after the “I’m very cold” reports started, BAM.  It hit.

So he’s got the fever, but bounced nicely when I gave him a dose of Tylenol.  He’s been running around all evening and doesn’t seem to be too uncomfortable, thank God.

Noah is still perky, but the low grade fever and cough continue.

We spent a quiet day around the house, which was actually pretty nice.  I was able to get some cleaning done and work a little bit more on our master bedroom closet.

That’s all I’ve got for now.  I’m going to get the boys to bed and attempt to suffer through the American Idol results show without the benefit of a DVR.  We’ll see how that goes.

Ya’ll have a fun night…

Well, I still don’t know for sure if Noah has the flu or not.

By the time we got to his pediatrician’s office this morning, Noah had no fever and was happy and jabbering.  He had a slight cough, but that was his only symptom.  He certainly didn’t present like a child who has the flu.

I love Noah’s pediatrician.  She’s combines homeopathic and traditional medicine…starting with a homeopathic approach and moving to traditional when necessary.  It takes something really nasty and ugly to cause her to break out her prescription pad.

After examining Noah and lots of questioning, she surmised that Noah may well have the flu…albeit a mild case.  She told me that she doesn’t do rapid flu tests at her practice because she does not prescribe Tamiflu.  She went on to tell me that Tamiflu has a history of some serious side effects and that there’s no reason to give children that…um…”stuff”.  (She used a rather different adjective.  I was more than clear on her opinion of Tamiflu.)  Noah’s pediatrician is definitely a polarizing figure…parents either love her or they can’t stand her.  Put me in the “love” column.  I always know exactly where she stands and she is WONDERFUL with Noah.  He let her use her otoscope to check his ears with no struggling at all…something I’ve NEVER seen Noah allow.  Tonight he’s saying “Good time at Dr. F…”.  He likes her too.

So we left the doctor’s office with instructions for rest, lots of liquids and some suggested herbal remedies.  We’re to continue the use of an essential oil blend (Thieves) on Noah as well.

He is happy and active tonight…still has a low fever, but is doing fine.

Hopefully this flu or whatever it is stops with Noah.  I’m praying that it does…and I really hope that he wasn’t Typhoid Mary to the children in his class at church last night.

So that’s what’s up with Noah.

In other news around here…

Doug and my Dad installed our new outdoor antennae this afternoon.  We now get 37 high definition channels.  For free.  How much does that rock?!

As a result, we’re watching American Idol right now.  Since the contestants are stinkin’ up the place (we’ve only watched the first three), I think we’ll stop watching and go to Hulu.com and see what Jack Bauer was up to between 5 and 6 PM.

That’s it for now.  Ya’ll have a nice evening…

Got home from church around 10:30 last night, only to discover a chilled and fevered Noah lying awake in bed.

oh. no.

Houston…I think we’ve got…

the flu.

I’m off with my poor little sweet boy to his pediatrician’s office for confirmation.

stay tuned…